Les Bleus Sont Victorieux

Université de Montréal Carabins Clinch First-Ever Vanier Cup Trophy After Heart-Stopping Ending

SportsJulian McKenzie — Published December 1, 2014 | Updated December 1, 2014 at 7:04pm

UdeM Carabins head coach Danny Maciocia is quite pleased that his team has disrupted the norm of RSEQ and Canadian university football.

“We needed a fresh face,” Maciocia said after his team’s 20-19 victory over the McMaster Marauders this past Saturday afternoon at Molson Stadium. “I think it’s good for university football in general and I think [it will lead] other institutions to believe that [winning a championship] could happen to them. If they take that from this victory today, then I think it’s a positive message.”

The Carabins captured their first ever Vanier Cup title in school history and became the first RSEQ team not named Laval to win a Vanier Cup since 1987, when McGill University won over the University of British Columbia.

“This is one of the highlights of my coaching career,” said Maciocia, who is the first head coach to win a Canadian Football League Grey Cup title and a Vanier Cup.

Despite trailing for most of the contest, the Carabins gained a 20-19 lead following a late field goal made by L-P Simoneau with 2:45 left to play.

“We started slow, but big teams come up in big moments,” said UdeM quarterback Gabriel Cousineau, who threw a touchdown pass and completed 17 of his 33 pass attempts for 196 yards. “We made it and we finished the job well today.”

UdeM was threatened with a field goal attempt from McMaster kicker Tyler Crapigna, who was four-for-four leading up the kick, late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for McMaster, Carabins lineman Mathieu Girard blocked Crapigna’s kick, giving UdeM the win.

“[It was a] freak play. It happens. That’s sports for you,” said Marauders quarterback Marshall Ferguson after the loss.

“I started screaming,” said Cousineau. “It was incredible. Special teams make the difference and they proved that today.”

Carabins receiver Régis Cibasu was honoured as the game’s Most Valuable Player after the game, ending his day with six catches for 90 yards, while Carabins halfback Anthony Coady won the Bruce Coulter Award as the best defensive player for the day, after catching two interceptions in the game.

“We needed a fresh face. I think it’s good for university football in general, and I think [it will lead] other institutions to believe that [winning a championship] could happen to them. If they take that from this victory today, then I think it’s a positive message.”
—UdeM Carabins head coach Danny Maciocia

While the Carabins fans were jubilant in victory, the Marauders, who were looking for their second Vanier Cup championship in four seasons, were understandably disappointed. Ferguson lamented his team’s inability to close out the game, despite having led for almost 57 of the 60 minutes played.

“That’s been the story of our year, unfortunately,” he said. “There’s too many throws that I want back and when you’re a fifth-year senior and you lose in your final game, you don’t get any of those back unless you play catch with your kids in ten years.”

UdeM had home advantage at Percival Molson Stadium as they played in front of a pro-Carabins crowd of 22,649 spectators, including Montreal mayor and UdeM graduate Denis Coderre.

However, the Carabins started off slowly, allowing two Crapigna field goals in the opening quarter and a 50-yard run from running back Wayne Moore in the second quarter. All UdeM could muster on offense in the first half was a field goal from Simoneau in the second quarter.

The Carabins were facing a 10-point deficit at half time and instead of panicking and worrying the players hummed, laughed, and enjoyed themselves in the locker room.

“A couple of people just went with it and then everybody just did it together,” said Carabins halfback Anthony Coady.

UdeM pounded their chests as they hummed the famous chest beat from the 2014 film The Wolf of Wall Street, unphased by their slow start in the first half. The thumping ultimately served as a rallying point for turning their game around.

“We just said [to each other] that we had to come up big in the second half,” said Cousineau.

In the third quarter, Cousineau threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to receiver Phillip Enchill, putting his team within three points of the lead. McMaster added two more field goals from Crapigna, before UdeM responded with another a three-yard touchdown run from Sean Thomas Erlington in the fourth quarter, making the score 19-17.

Following Simoneau’s kick to give UdeM a 20-19 lead, McMaster tried to reply with a field goal on their ensuing possession. The Marauders were given great field position thanks to runs from running back Wayne Moore, but Crapigna’s field goal attempt was blocked, leading to Montreal’s victory.

In a game that will go down as one of the most memorable in the Vanier Cup’s history, UdeM’s resilience and never-say-die attitude will be a part of that championship game’s legacy.

“We have a team that never stopped believing in our goal,” said Coady. “No one stopped believing.”